10 Best Board Press Alternatives for Triceps Strength
What can I do instead of Board Press? Choose barbell close-grip bench, floor press, pin press, JM press, or weighted dips to preserve the lockout-focused triceps stimulus. Cue: keep elbows tucked to bias the lateral and long heads, and extend the elbows explosively while maintaining scapular retraction to protect the shoulder and transfer force efficiently.
Original Exercise: Board Press
How to Perform Board Press
- Begin by lying on the bench, getting your head beyond the bar if possible. One to five boards, made out of 2x6's, can be screwed together and held in place by a training partner, bands, or just tucked under your shirt.
- Tuck your feet underneath you and arch your back. Using the bar to help support your weight, lift your shoulder off the bench and retract them, squeezing the shoulder blades together. Use your feet to drive your traps into the bench. Maintain this tight body position throughout the movement.
- You can take a standard bench grip, or shoulder width to focus on the triceps. Pull the bar out of the rack without protracting your shoulders. The bar, wrist, and elbow should stay in line at all times. Focus on squeezing the bar and trying to pull it apart.
- Lower the bar to the boards, and then drive the bar up with as much force as possible. The elbows should be tucked in until lockout.
Pro Tips
- Category: Powerlifting
- Force: Push
- Movement type: Compound
Best Board Press Alternatives
1. Barbell Pin Presses
98.7% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Set up a barbell on a power rack at chest height.
- Stand facing the barbell and position yourself underneath it, with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Grip the barbell with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Lift the barbell off the rack and hold it directly above your chest, with your arms fully extended.
- Lower the barbell down towards your chest, keeping your elbows tucked in close to your body.
2. Barbell Jm Bench Press
95.4% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
- Grasp the barbell with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Lower the barbell to your chest, keeping your elbows tucked in close to your body.
- Push the barbell back up to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
3. Barbell One Arm Floor Press
92.2% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie flat on your back on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
- Hold the barbell with one hand, palm facing up, and extend your arm straight up over your chest.
- Slowly lower the barbell towards your chest, keeping your elbow close to your body.
- Pause for a moment at the bottom, then push the barbell back up to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch arms.
4. Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press
92% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie back on a flat bench. Using a close grip (around shoulder width), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked. This will be your starting position.
- As you breathe in, come down slowly until you feel the bar on your middle chest. Tip: Make sure that - as opposed to a regular bench press - you keep the elbows close to the torso at all times in order to maximize triceps involvement.
- After a second pause, bring the bar back to the starting position as you breathe out and push the bar using your triceps muscles. Lock your arms in the contracted position, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly again. Tip: It should take at least twice as long to go down than to come up.
- Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
- When you are done, place the bar back in the rack.
5. Barbell Lying Close-grip Press
92% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
- Grasp the barbell with a close grip, hands shoulder-width apart, palms facing towards your feet.
- Lift the barbell off the rack and hold it directly above your chest with your arms fully extended.
- Slowly lower the barbell towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body.
- Pause for a moment when the barbell touches your chest, then push it back up to the starting position.
6. Ez Barbell Jm Bench Press
91.4% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
- Grasp the ez barbell with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Lower the barbell to your chest, keeping your elbows tucked in close to your body.
- Push the barbell back up to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
7. Barbell Close-grip Bench Press
91.2% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
- Grasp the barbell with a close grip, slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart.
- Unrack the barbell and lower it slowly towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body.
- Pause for a moment when the barbell touches your chest.
- Push the barbell back up to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
8. Close-Grip EZ-Bar Press
91.2% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie on a flat bench with an EZ bar loaded to an appropriate weight.
- Using a narrow grip lift the bar and hold it straight over your torso with your elbows in. The arms should be perpendicular to the floor. This will be your starting position.
- Now lower the bar down to your lower chest as you breathe in. Keep the elbows in as you perform this movement.
- Using the triceps to push the bar back up, press it back to the starting position by extending the elbows as you exhale.
- Repeat.
9. Ez-bar Close-grip Bench Press
91.2% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
- Grasp the ez barbell with a close grip, hands shoulder-width apart, palms facing forward.
- Lift the barbell off the rack and hold it directly above your chest with your arms fully extended.
- Slowly lower the barbell towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body.
- Pause for a moment when the barbell touches your chest.
10. Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press
90.7% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
- Grasp the barbell with a reverse grip, hands shoulder-width apart.
- Lift the barbell off the rack and hold it directly above your chest with your arms fully extended.
- Slowly lower the barbell down towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body.
- Pause for a moment when the barbell is just above your chest.
Why You Might Need a Board Press Alternative
You might substitute the board press for several valid reasons: lack of equipment (no boards or rack), shoulder or elbow pain with partial ranges, or a need to shift the overload point for a weak lockout. Alternatives let you change range of motion, joint torque, and muscle emphasis. For example, the floor press reduces humeral extension to offload the shoulder while increasing isometric triceps demand—cue: drive through the palms and stop with elbows on the floor to maximize lateral-head activation. Pin presses let you set different start heights to overload specific sticking points, and JM presses or dips place more stretch on the long head when you allow slight shoulder extension.
How to Choose the Right Substitute
Pick a substitute by matching the movement pattern, desired ROM, and joint stress to your goal. If you need lockout strength, choose pin presses or close-grip bench with a controlled pause—cue: keep wrists stacked over elbows and lock without hyperextension to recruit medial and lateral triceps. If shoulder pain limits you, use floor presses or machine triceps work to limit humeral extension and reduce shoulder torque. For hypertrophy, use JM presses or weighted dips with controlled eccentrics to load the long head under stretch. Always check that you can maintain scapular retraction and neutral wrist position to optimize force transfer and minimize compensations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What muscles does Board Press work?
The board press primarily targets the triceps brachii—especially the lateral and medial heads—by emphasizing elbow extension in a shortened range. It reduces pec stretch, so the triceps do more of the work; cue: tuck the elbows to ensure triceps, not pecs, drive the lockout.
What is the best bodyweight alternative to Board Press?
Weighted dips are the top bodyweight substitute because they train elbow extension and the long-head stretch when performed with an upright torso. Cue: lower to about 90° of elbow flexion and press up through the palms while keeping shoulders depressed to maximize triceps activation.
Can I build muscle without doing Board Press?
Yes. You can build triceps size with close-grip bench presses, floor presses, JM presses, dips, and targeted extensions by applying progressive overload and adequate volume. Focus on elbow-tuck technique and controlled eccentrics to ensure strong triceps activation across the range.
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